Taekwondo Potters Bar

As Taekwondo has fairly high physical demands, it's possibly more suitable for the younger generation in Potters Bar. That's not to say that older people cannot be involved in this kind of activity, but just that there may be other martial arts that are more appropriate for the less agile among us. Tai Chi is a perfect example.

With its beginnings in 1940's Korea, South-East Asia, Taekwondo is certainly one of the more recently developed of the martial arts and consists of mainly high-kicking movements such as fast kicking styles, jumping/spinning kicks and head kicks. It began when schools known as "kwans" were set up by a bunch of Korean martial arts specialists in Seoul, South Korea.

Taekwondo has grown to become extremely popular in Potters Bar and all over the world, with more than 60 million practitioners worldwide. Joining a local Potters Bar Taekwondo club or class is a good way to get involved with this sporting activity which has even been included in the Olympic Games since the Sydney Games in 2000. Although you might not aspire to Olympic competition, there is no reason why you shouldn't become a master of this enjoyable martial art and have a bit of fun along the way.

For many folks in Potters Bar, it's the self-defence aspect of Taekwondo which holds the most appeal. And in these times of increasing violence, particularly in town and city centres, it's no surprise that this aspect features high up on people's priority lists. It is a primary factor of Taekwondo that you can become confident in your ability to defend yourself while at the same time learning to respect those around you and learn self-restraint.

While it will give you peace of mind knowing that you have such self-defence skills in your locker, the likelihood is that you will never have to test them outside the controlled atmosphere of an actual Taekwondo class.

Your First Taekwondo Lesson

If you've made up your mind to learn Taekwondo and are preparing for your first lesson, you'll be curious about what will happen. There could be variations to the following, subject to which Potters Bar Taekwondo school you attend, but you can more or less expect; A warm up lasting fifteen to twenty minutes, a little technical training including learning some kicks, stances, hand attacks and blocking techniques, a look at some forms (Poomse), a look at sparring including good movement, timing and attack targeting, and to round off a warm down to loosen up and stretch weary muscles.

The official body regulating Taekwondo in Great Britain is British Taekwondo and any individual wishing to join a Taekwondo class in Potters Bar has to also register with British Taekwondo. You can get plenty of details on health and safety, equality and safeguarding, coaches and tournament referees, coaching courses, events, first aid, clubs and members, news, starting a new Taekwondo club, and more, by exploring British Taekwondo's official website.

The Many Benefits of Taekwondo

You will no doubt be interested to discover precisely what type of benefits might be gained by attending Potters Bar Taekwondo lessons and partaking fully in its activities. You could expect that you will: Augment flexibility, stamina and agility by means of extreme cardiovascular work-outs, Greater discipline and willpower by comprehensively educating your mind and body in the principles and strategies of Taekwondo, Boost confidence by inspiring you to succeed and to seize control of your life, Teach you self-defence techniques by coaching you to realize circumstances where self-defence could be required, and enabling you to control these kinds of situations to your advantage, Enhance your self-esteem by raising both mental and physical fitness, Toughen up your mind and body by way of enhanced physical coordination and mental discipline, Reduced anxiety and stress by doing deep breathing exercises.

Taekwondo Kicks

Kicks play a key role in Taekwondo, here are a small selection of the best known ones ones: Push Kick (Meereo Chagi), Axe Kick (Naeryeo Chagi), Roundhouse Kick (Dollyo Chagi), Back Kick (Dwo Chagi), Hook or Whip Kick (Huryeo Chagi), Side Kick (Yeop Chagi), Front Kick (Ap Chagi), Crescent Kick (Bandal Chagi). Taekwondo Blocks: Taekwondo "blocks", which are used to defend against the different attacking movements, are known as Makgi. Held in various positions, they employ the hands and sections of the arm. Each and every "block" can be merged with a punch or kick to create a counter-attacking manoeuvre, and each "block" is appropriate for a specific attack. The main blocks include: Double Knife Hand Block, Rising Block, Upper Block, Knife Hand Block, Palm Block, Single Forearm Block, Nine Block, Double Forearm Block and Low Block.

Taekwondo Forms (Poomse)

Novices just starting out Taekwondo do not need to fret excessively about forms (patterns, Poomse) at the outset, but they'll have to get to grips with some important ones to start with and advance to more challenging "forms" as they move through the various belts (grades/dans). A "form" is indicated by certain areas of Taekwondo including stance, direction and technique. Learning such techniques is a key part of perfecting Taekwondo.